The Aftermath Of Impression Products V. Lexmark

By
Brian Kacedon and Kevin RodkeyNovember 13, 2017, 9:32 AM EST

Law360, New York (November 13, 2017, 9:32 AM EST) -- On May 30, 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its long-awaited patent exhaustion decision in Impression Products v. Lexmark International, 137 S.Ct. 1523 (2017). In that opinion, the court held that any authorized sale by a patent owner exhausts all patent rights in the product sold, which prohibits a patent owner from enforcing post-sale restrictions through patent infringement suits. The court also held that exhaustion applies to foreign sales authorized by the patent owner. While the decision clarified the law of patent exhaustion, it also left...